Apparatus for slitting and coiling lines



May 14, 1957 E. w. BRUNS APPARATUS FOR SLITTING AND comm: LINES 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 17, 1954 M mm ,7 TU M mw 9 o T a M B ow wm mTm;

ATTORNEYS May 14, 1957 E. w. BRUNS APPARATUS FOR SLITTING AND COILINGLINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 17, 1954 N; wk M w m s N? a E a Q s a,.m i nml m m m B M EEWWHIIEEEEE w. A n I n |l.fl&l N on u MN Afimfiv/INM w Tron m0 QM IQ om 3 w mm FIL I FIIL FIL Q mm 3 U mm I an lllllcrszccr c :11! ll [25 ATTORNEYS nited States APPARATUS FOR SLITTlN GAND COILING LINES Elton W. Bruns, New Bremen, Ohio, assignor to Starnco,Inc., New Bremen, Ohio, a corporation of Gino Application June 17, 1954,Serial No. 437,547

2 Claims. (Cl. 164-61) character are often subject to a considerablerange of requirements with respect both to the width of the wide web tobe slit thereon and to the widths of the narrower webs to be produced,and this is particularly the case where such slitting lines are employedin factories to provide multiple bands of sheet material for furtherfabricating operations. quent fluctuation in the requirements forsetting or adjusting the slitting unit in the line.

More particularly, the slitting members in a slitting line commonly takethe form of a pair of parallel arbors carrying a plurality of sets ofcomplementary disk cutters and cooperating spacers to establish theproper lateral spacing of the cutters. Since highly accurate controlover widths of the slit bands is desired, it is a common practice toemploy spacer collars of accurate width between adjacent cutters on eacharbor. Changing of the cutter spacing accordingly requires removal ofthe cutters and spacer collars from the ends of the arborsand'replacement by other spacer collars, and this is a relativelylengthy operation and may require as long as three to four hours. Quiteapparently, if such operation isperformed with the slitting unitremaining in the line, this means a similar period of non-production forthe entire line, which includes a considerable quantity of otherexpensive equipment, with a corresponding increase in the overall costof operation.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a slitterconstruction for a slitting line which will greatly reduce theunproductive time of the line between changes in the output requirementsthereof by making it possible to effect such changes in the linein asmall fraction of the time ordinarily required to' adjust and reset theslitting cutters.

A further object is to provide a slitter construction for a slittingline wherein the slitting cutters are embodied in a slitter head whichis constructed for quick and easy removal as a. unit fromthe slittingline and replacement by a similar slitter head unit, and wherein eachslitter head is also constructed for resetting of the cutters thereinwhile removed from the slitting line in order to reduce to a minimum thetime required for change of the output requirements of the line as awhole.

An additional object is to provide a slitter construction as outlinedabove which includes a main base for permanent installation in theslitting line and a plurality of removable and replaceable slitter headunits for'interchangeable use on the main base in accordance withchanges in the output requirements of the line.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a slitter Suchconditions result in fre 2,792,060 Patented May 14, 1957 construction asoutlined above in which the main base and eachslitter head unit includecomplementary parts constructed for rapid cooperative operation duringexchange of the slitter head to effect rapid accurate indexing of thenew slitter head in the proper alignment with the other units in theslitting line and thereby to minir'nize the unproductive time of theline.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent fromthe following description, the accompanying drawings and the appendedclaims.

' In'the drawings-- Fig. 1 is a plan view showing somewhatdiagrammatically the general arrangement of a slitter unit constructedin accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an end view looking from right to left in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the removable and replaceableslitter heads for use in the assembly of "Fig.1;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of Fig. 3 with portions of the base brokenaway as indicated generally by the line 4-4 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view similar to Fig. 4 and showing theadjustable housing for the slitting orifice partially removed to providefor resetting of the slitting cutters; and

' Fig. 6 is a fragmentary section of a somewhat larger section takenapproximately on the line 66 of Fig. 4 andon a larger scale.

Referring to the drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment ofthe invention, Figs. 1 and 2 show a general'arrangement of slitting andguiding apparatus in a slitting line. The web 10 of sheet stock is fedfrom left to'right in Fig. 2 from an unwind stand (not shown) under theentry roll 11 and between side guide plates 12 on stand 13 to a pair ofpinch rolls 15 mounted on stand 16 and driven by a motor 17. The stock10 then passes to the slitter head indicated generally at 20 which isshown as mounted on a main base 22 closely adjacent the supporting stand16 for the pinch rolls 15. The main base 22' includes a portion 23 whichsupports a scrap cutter 25 for cutting the strips of scrap trimmed fromthe side edges of the web 10 in the slitter head 22, and the scrapcutter 25 is provided with its own drive motor 26, reference being madein this connection to my copending application Serial No. 444,776 filedJuly 21, l954,'and assigned to the same assignee as this application.The good strips of stock pass across the scrap cutter 25 and are guidedon by way of the exit roll 27 thereon.

The slitter head 20 is shown in detail in Figs. 3 and 4-6. It includes asub base 30 on which is mounted a pair of arbors 31 and 32, eachcarrying a plurality of slitting knives or cutters 33 alternating withspacer collars 34. One end of each of the arbors is supported in ahousing 35 fixed on the sub base 30. The other ends of the arbors arejournalled in a housing 36 supported for movement lengthwise of sub base30 in order to release the ends of the arbors for removal andrearrangement of the knives and spacer collars thereon.

Referring particularly to Figs. 4-6, the sub base 30 has a V-railportion 40 on its upper surface mating with a V-groove 41 in the widerside of housing 36 to provide for guided slitting movement of thehousing on the sub base. A gib 42 is carried by a locking stud 43depending from housing 36, and this gib slides in a slot 44 in the uppersurface or the sub base 31), the slot and gib having beveled side edgesfor frictional locking when the stud 43 is tightened in its locking nut45 by the handle 46. When stud 43 is released, movement of housing 36 isetfected by a screw 50 mounted in the end wall of sub base 30 and havinga crank handle 51 and a connection 52 with the housing 36. The movementof these parts should be such, as indicated in Fig. 5, to free theadjacent ends of both arbors 31 and 32 for ready replacement of thecutters and spacer collars thereon.

The slitter head 20 is removable and replaceable as a unit with respectto the main base 22, and means are provided for quickly and accuratelyindexing a selected slitter head in the slitting line. The upper surfaceof the main base 22 is provided with V-rails 6t) and pads 61 which matewith complementary V-grooves 62 and pads 63 on the under surface of thesub base 30. Thus mounting of the sub base on the main base with theserails and grooves in engagement assures correct parallel alignment ofthe arbors 31 and 32 at right angles to the desired path of the web 10through the slitter.

Additional means are provided for quickly and easily' upper surface ofbase 22 adjacent this stop 65. When the slitter head is mounted on base22, the sub base 30 is received over cylinder 66 so that the piston rod67 can be moved against the inner surface of end wall 68 of the sub basewhich is adjacent stop 65. This will in turn move the slitter head as aunit along the rails and pads 60 and 61 until the outside of the endwall 68cngages the stop 65 to establish'the correct centered position ofthe slitter head in the line.. I

Releasable means are provided for quickly securing the slitter head 20in this aligned and centered position. Adjacentrthe stop 65 on the uppersurface of the main base 22 is a pair of locking bolts 70 pivoted in abracket 71 and adapted to fit within complementary forked portions of abracket 72 on the adjacent end of the sub base 30. The upper ends of thebolts 70 carry nuts 73 adapted to be tightened against the bracket 72 tolock this end of the sub base to the main base 22. Similar locking bolts75 are mounted in brackets 76 on opposite sides ofthe main base adjacentthe other end of the sub base and cooperate with forked brackets 77 onthe sides of the sub base and nuts 78 to assure maintained positioningof the slitter head in aligned and centered relation with the slittingline.

It is common practice in a slitting and coiling line to pull the stockthrough the slitter by means of a driven rewind unit, but the inventionalso provides a quickly releasable drive for the arbors 31 and 32.Referring to Fig. 1, a drive motor 80 and gear box 81 are mounted on afixed base 82 secured at 83 to the main base 22. The gear box 81includes twin drive shafts 85 adapted for driving connection with thearbors 31 and 32 through overrunning clutches 86 and quickly detachablecouplings 88. Each of these couplings includes a knuckle 90 connectedwith its associated clutch 86 and a knuckle 91 connected with itsassociated arbor, and these knuckles include spliued stub shafts 92 and93 adapted to be received in opposite ends of a complementary splinedcollar 95. A centering bolt 96 in the collar 95 prevents removal of thecollar, and when this bolt is removed, the collar 95 will quickly slidealong one or the other of shafts 92 and 93 to permit removal of theother shaft therefrom.

The invention accordingly makes it possible to set up and adjust theknives on the slitter head 20 while the head is out of the slitting lineand the line is running with another slitter head. In order tofacilitate this operation, and also protect the bearing surfaces on theunder side of the sub base 36, a jig base 100 is provided as shown inFig. 3 for supporting the slitter head while it is off the main base 22,the upper surface of the jig base 100 having V-rails 101 and pads 102corresponding to the parts 60 and 61 on the main base. While the slitterhead is thus mounted on the jig base, the housing 36 may be backed olfas described to free the ends of the arbors 31 and 32 for resetting andreplacement of the cutters thereon without interruption in operation ofthe slitting line, and also with the slitter head away from the otherequipment in the line rather than trying to work across such otherequipment as is necessary if resetting of the cutters is carried outwith the slitter head installed in its operating position in the line.

Thereafter when the output of the line is to be changed, it is onlynecessary to release the couplings 38 and the lock bolts 79 and 75 andthen to lift out the complete slitter head by a crane and to replace itby another slitter head on which the knives havealready been properlyset for the next slitting run, and the housings 35 and 36 areaccordingly provided with means such as the eye bolt 105 for connectionwith the crane. As this new slitter head is lowered onto the main base22, it is simple for the operator to guide it into the proper positionfor engagement of the V-grooves 62 and the V-rails 60 and thus to setthe head in parallelism with the other equipment in the line. Thenpressure is applied in the cylinder 66 to move the sub base 30 againstthe stop as described and thus to center the slitter head in the line,after which it is locked in place by the bolts and and-the arbors 31 and32 are connected to the driveby the couplings 83.

As soon as the new slitter head is thus ready for operation, the sheet10 is fed thereto by means of the driven pinch rolls 15, and the drivefor the arbors is started to inch the sheet through the slitter head tothe rewind station. For example, satisfactory results have been obtainedwith an inching speed for the stock of the order 50 feet per minute ascompared with running speeds varying from to 2500 feet per minutedepending upon the nature of the stock. As the normal drive speed isreached, the direct drive to the arbors is overrun through the clutches86, and the drive motor 89 may then be shut off if desired, but if theslit sheet is to be sheared rather than rewound, the drive may becontinued by the motor 80.

As a practical illustration of the advantages of the present invention,it has been found that when the slitting line includes a fixed slitterrequiring resetting in place, the unproductive down time of the line asa whole will ordinarily range from one or two as high as four hours,depending upon the complexity of the required resetting of the knives,and this time represents dead loss in terms of both manpower andexpensive equipment. In contrast, it has been found that the total timerequired for such change of the slitter line output in accordance withthe present invention averages closer to twelve minutes and has beenaccomplished in as little as seven minutes. Thus the efiiciency andoutput of the entire slitting line is greatly increased with relativelysmall increase in the initial cost, since it is apparent that a plantoperating more than one slitting line can under many conditions obtainall these advantages by the addition of a single extra slitter head forinterchangeable use on all of its lines.

While the form of apparatus herein described constitutes a preferredembodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the inventionis not limited to this precise form of apparatus, and that changes maybe made therein without departing from the scope of the invention whichis defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is: a

1. A slitter assembly adapted for quick removal and replacement fromabove in a slitting line for sheet metal stock, comprising an elongatedmain base for mounting in fixed transverse relation with the slittingline, an elongated substantially rigid sub base, slitting means on saidsub base, complementary guide means on the top of said main base andthebottom of said sub base extending longitudinally of said bases andengageable with each main base adapted to be received within the underside of said sub base and including a movable piston rod, means Withinsaid sub base for engagement with said piston rod upon downward movementof said sub base onto said main base to effect sliding adjustingmovement of said sub base on said main base in response to applicationof fluid pressure in said cylinder, and a stop on said main base locatedin predetermined spaced relation with said cylinder to establish a limitposition of adjustment of said sub base on said main base.

2. A slitter assembly adapted for quick removal and replacement fromabove in a slitting line for sheet metal stock, comprising an elongatedmain base for mounting in fixed transverse relation with the slittingline, an elongated substantially rigid sub base, a fixed housing mountedadjacent one end of said sub base, cooperating slitting arbors eachsupported at one end with said fixed housing and adapted to receive aplurality of slitting knives thereon in adjustable relation, a secondhousing for receiving and supporting the other ends of said arbors,means mounting said second housing on said sub base for guided movementinto and out of supporting relation with said arbors to provide forremoval and replacement of the slitting knives on said arbors,complementary guide means on the top of said main base and the bottom ofsaid sub base extending longitudinally of said bases and engageable witheach other by relative vertical movement to maintain said bases inaccurate alignment, a fluid pressure cylinder on said main base adaptedto be received Within the under side of said sub base and including amovable piston rod, means Within said sub base for engagement with saidpiston rod upon downward movement of said sub base onto said main baseto effect sliding adjustment movement of said sub base on said main basein response to application of fluid pressure in said cylinder, and astop on said main base located in predetermined spaced relation withsaid cylinder to establish a limit position of adjustment of said subbase on said main base.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,888,436 Richards Nov. 22, 1932, 1,959,424 Hawkins May 22, 19342,222,051 Tyrrell Nov. 19, 1940

